LETTERS; Meatless and Happy

Published: February 20, 2008

To the Editor:

Re ''I Love You, but You Love Meat'' (Feb. 13):

My husband is a fabulous cook. When we started dating, he served me meals most people find only in five-star restaurants. I also started eating more meat. Though I had never abstained from eating meat, there was something that always bothered me about
the idea of eating an animal that I knew full well wanted nothing more than to live.

One day, I had an epiphany and I knew that I could not be a part of the cruelty involved in the slaughter of animals. I was afraid that it would put a strain on my marriage. Instead, my husband got creative and started cooking the most fabulous vegan
meals. He now eats meat, at most, once a week.

Had I been a vegan prior to meeting him, I think I would have sought out a person with similar eating habits. I would have missed out on getting to know the most wonderful man on earth.

Aurora Cooney

Akron, Ohio

To the Editor:

While I found ''I Love You, but You Love Meat'' to be an interesting article on the social evolution of our species, one quote struck me as dangerously misleading. When mentioning the Benson family of Massachusetts, Kate Murphy wrote,
''Another concern was whether she would be able to cook vegetarian meals that would meet the nutritional needs of everyone in the family, including their teenage daughter.''

Insinuating that a teenager may not be able to obtain proper nutrition without meat is not only completely false, but may actually cause parents to make food choices for their children that place those children on a path of future ill health. Most well-informed
nutritionists and government agencies now state that well-balanced vegetarian and vegan diets can meet all the nutritional needs of children of all ages. Meat is not a necessity.

Tom Winton

Bangor, Me.

To the Editor:

I had been a vegan for 12 years when I started dating a man who ate meat and wore a leather jacket. Lucky for both of us he wasn't threatened by the idea that one can eat well and not support animal suffering at the same time. He eventually went
vegan, we married, and now he works for the Humane Society of the United States. We made a vow to constantly question the status quo, whether it makes us uncomfortable or not.

I think a passion for wanting to be kinder people has a little more staying power than a passion for delighting taste buds.